Strive for compassion

May 22, 2018Letters to the Editor

On May 11, the members of my Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were invited to Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh for a Sabbath service and dinner just a few days before Ramadhan.

It was an amazing experience with Rabbi Jamie Gibson who was most hospitable, God bless him.

It truly gave me a sense of pluralism in our country and while I sat through the service and broke bread with my Jewish friends, I couldn’t help but think about a bright future.

Such inclusive gatherings restore my faith in humanity. While it is strange to see Muslims and Jews congregating in such a wonderful manner, it is sad to see the affairs in the Middle East and the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.

As a Muslim, I am reminded by the Holy Quran to show sympathy and compassion towards people of all faiths, irrespective of caste, creed, color or ethnicity. We are commanded to protect places of worship like churches, synagogues and mosques (Quran 22:41) and taught that no religion can monopolize salvation (Quran 2:63).

It is time to rise above our bigotries to forward the narrative of humanity and not extremism.

The writer is a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, an Islamic sect founded in the 1890s in the Punjabi province of India that professes peace through nonviolence.